What are some recent real-world examples and use cases of using the cloud to empower Earth scientists?
I am coordinating the Cloud Computing Cluster session for the ESIP January meeting is about “Bridging the Cloud Divide” is inspired by the meetings overall theme:
Bridging Divides: Data, Technology, Community,” is born from a critical moment in Earth science. We have made incredible progress in data collection and technological innovation, yet these advancements often create silos. Scientists are drowning in data, and although powerful tools exist, they are not always accessible or interoperable. The gaps between those who collect data and those who analyze it, between scientific disciplines, and between the scientific community and the public is still quite wide.
If you’re an Earth scientist or know Earth scientists, how is cloud data or cloud computing helping making Earth science more accessible and otherwise advance Earth science goals? I would love to hear some more examples to include as dedicated presentations or to highlight in an overview presentation.
Hi @aimeeb, I’ve worked on a couple of programs that might address some of the topics you’re discussing.
The Digital Earth Africa program is a good example. It provides access to large volumes of analysis-ready Earth observation data hosted in the cloud, along with free compute, enabling EO scientists to develop algorithms and undertake applied EO science. They also publish a weekly newsletter and share many strong success stories demonstrating how EO has been used to solve real-world problems across Africa: https://digitalearthafrica.org/en_za/insights/.
Along similar lines, Digital Earth Antarctica focuses on developing and providing access to high-quality analysis-ready data, while empowering Antarctic science and community engagement. Cloud infrastructure is again a fundamental component, alongside tools that make it easier for the community to access and analyse large volumes of spatio-temporal data. The program is still in its early stages, so there is currently limited public content available.
Thank you @abradley60 ! That is very helpful, I agree the Digital Earth * platforms are one of the best examples of cloud computing for Earth science in action. A presentation about those successes would be a great fit for this session or a future cloud computing session. Is there someone you would recommend to speak specifically about the technical platform and how it enables Earth insights, useful to the communities it serves?
No worries @aimeeb, glad I could help! Did you have an email I can reach you at? I will put you in contact with someone from the program and they can organise with you directly.
@Kaboom_Official that sounds interesting. Happy to connect if there’s anything you would like discuss!
I was curious are you working with any low-Earth, non sun-synchronous satellite data? Unlike geostationary satellites, these don’t provide observations on a fixed lat lon grid. Instead, their measurements come in shifting swaths with each orbit, so handling these datasets takes a bit more effort.
Yes — I mainly deal with data from large open-source archives of LEO SSO / polar-orbiting satellites, so I can usually rely on a repeat ground track or some form of regular grid. Organising that type of data certainly sounds like more of a challenge!
